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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

pianoloverus
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Registered: 05/29/01
Posts: 19946
Loc: New York City

I think the opening page sounds extremely unsteady with abrupt tempo changes and times when it almost sounds like an extra beat was added. The basic pulse is completely lost many times. I'd suggest re-recording this piece before submitting it as an audition tape.

Mark_C
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Registered: 11/11/09
Posts: 20004
Loc: New York

I agree.

Vermonter: You have great fingers!! -- and great poise. We can see that the technical challenges don't faze you at all. But looking at the musical side of things, what Plover said is true. It seems like you are feeling that you have to 'do something' with the melodies -- but it also seems like you don't quite know what to do, and that most of the things that you 'do' don't really work. Also, I think you would benefit greatly from developing your awareness and ability with the soft end of the dynamic range. To my ear, almost every moment of this piece could benefit from being softer, and from a greater sensitivity to degrees of softness -- especially (perhaps ironically) the fast/loud parts!

But this performance is a nice achievement. You clearly have the pianistic ability to handle the most challenging repertoire, which is quite a statement. And we can't let ourselves forget how young you are, which makes the achievement all the greater.

ABC V -- Overall, I found this presentation very impressive -- and more specifically, in a musical sense as well as a technical sense. I regard the Ballade No 2 as especially difficult to control the shape and movement from beginning to end, and I thought you projected the overall line very convincingly, and with technical assurance throughout some brutally difficult sections.Having said that, I wasn't as totally satisfied with the "emotional arc". I believe that Chopin penned a spectacularly gripping tragic ballad -- which ends tragically. The beautiful introductory song should IMO be presented as a dreamlike reverie of a past innocence, which is suddenly and brutally interrupted by an outright violent reality of the present (for whatever reason). As the "story" develops, there is an open desire of the dreamer to return to the innocent state, but the tension of grim reality is powerful, and eventually TOO powerful to withstand. The music inexorably churns toward an outright manic triumph of violence, and the last statement of the song is for me a posthumous epilogue.In that context, then, your introductory statement is too contrived for my taste -- it needs to have more of a nostalgic sweet-sad longing -- much more dreamlike (sognando). The violent sections were more convincing, but I think there is more opportunity here as well to shape the melodic arch to create a maximum sense of terror. Same way in "the middle" -- I need more of a sinister, foreboding sense as the "sweet-sad" aspect is gradually ripped away.But -- great start! And thanks for sharing!

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. I like your version of the story for the ballade. It is rich, and makes musical sense. Hopefully, I will be able to demonstrate some version of emotional arc next time.

As the Second Ballade is one of my warhorses, I listened to this performance with particular interest.

Good things first: I found the Presto con Fuoco (and its recapitulation beginning in D minor) technically almost preternatural, but since you are so able, I'm not going to go easy on you You are able to play it at any speed, but when something is this fast, by taking time at the right moments it becomes more effective dramatically but also seems even faster. By keeping the phrasing more pliable, particularly in the left hand (swoopy dynamically rather than ASLOUDASPOSSIBLE), and careful integration of rubato a the tops and bottoms of phrases, you can give the impression of even greater speed through a telescoping effect - a car going really fast very close to you has a Doppler effect, while a car going even faster in the distance appears to be going less fast.

Edit: The thing MarkC said about the softer side being applicable to the fast parts as well as slow is a big part of what I mean by telescoping.

I would love to know how you got the diminished 7th figuration in the second measure of the Presto so electric. That measure bogs me down a bit for some reason (probably to do with the subtle crossrhythm and syncopation) even though more difficult stuff like the coda no longer gives me much trouble. That brings me to my second point: overall I found your coda satisfying, but it could do with more telescoping/contrast for greater effect. The most egregious technical issue is that you have this awkwardness in the climactic chord-arpeggios: you "wait" for the hand repositioning. It's definitely not easy, but if you work on it as diligently and intelligently as you did the rest of the notey bits, I'm sure you can get it. That figuration is hellishly difficult, and if you can manage it masterfully, pianists who know will absolutely notice.

I won't address the Andantino or middle section now - too much to say, except that the other posters are right on: it needs to be almost metronomical in regularity. This seems counterintuitive, but it's a flowing, rocking lullaby, not an operatic aria or nocturne. Create contrast through dynamics, variety of phrasings in the repeated material, and color changes rather than big rubati. There are a couple of spots where noticeable rubati are effective, but only a couple. The rest should be very, very slight and linked mostly with harmony changes rather with than the melody.

You're off to a very good start, and I think you could play it brilliantly with just a few changes! Best of luck with it!

I would love to know how you got the diminished 7th figuration in the second measure of the Presto so electric. That measure bogs me down a bit for some reason (probably to do with the subtle crossrhythm and syncopation) even though more difficult stuff like the coda no longer gives me much trouble.

I agree, that measure is quite difficult, and it took me some time to get a handle of it. But what I found useful is to pay more attention on the notes that my thumb and index finger and bring them out, as the notes on the pinkie were the hard part. Once I got that, the pinkie slowly gets easier, and I got full control of the passage. What I like on that measure that I didn't fully execute on the video was the dramatic change in dynamic from fortissimo to around piano. Chopin even wrote down a diminuendo. I hope I answered your question.

I am very jealous of your fingers and musicality!! You are doing much better than I was when I was 14. Keep up the good work!!

A small hint which I've found to be useful - play with a steady, almost metronomic tempo to establish the basic pulse and flow of a section, and try to continue and shape the long line. Try voicing the top voice much louder over the rest of the texture, and maintain a long line, again, at a steady tempo. Once you've established the basic tempo, start adding slight nuances - change the tempo in certain sections to highlight musical details - start to use the tempo rubato.

In short - start with a strict tempo, and start to add rubato in the parts that need it. It'll help you develop a good sense of the long line. Don't forget that the pulse should stay the constant - we need to hear the rocking 6/8 time, which can have its beats stretched or shrunken, but it must remain in 6/8.

In terms of tone, try to get a good "conception" of how you want to sound in terms of textures - bright? more thick? dark? Balance the chords accordingly - bring out the top if you want to be brighter, and make things more even if you want to have a more thick sound. You need to have a good idea of how you're sounding, which requires a good idea of what you want, and constant listening to your own playing.

I didn't listen to the whole thing, but knowing how you were easily getting through the technical parts, you should be okay. Though you seem to be quite the talented musician, good luck with the rest of your studies!